I continue to laugh at FiF. It's so absurd.
So you have players like valero, vecino, politano, gags, even dumbo to an extent who aren't "good enough even for bench" for conte and gets continuously used as the excuse for why we are a little underwhelming over the course of the season and in all the big games we underperformed.
In the same breath you're saying that, you expected those players, under a worst coach, to perform better? To beat the CL finalist?
Sentimental bs. The same strategy was used against tottenham in BOTH GAMES. That is, to control the game, limit their spaces and chances. They literally scored 2 goals against us in 2 legs; 1 was a deflection. They only had 1 other legit chance (Harry Kane missed a 1v1). It took a mazy run and slight lapse of concentration on brozo for their 2 goal against us. The strategy worked in the first leg, it didn't the second. AGAINST THE CL FINALIST.
Fast forward a year and we go play Dortmund (not CL finalist level team, we have better squad, better coach, year CL experience) and go play sit and counter for 2 games. Worked in game 1, didn't work in game 2. Somehow the criticism is LESS
We go beat slavia playing sit and counter again but because the result was 3-1, it's all good and not seen as cowardice to do that against SLAVIA FUCKING PRAGUE?
Last game we need to win. At home against Barca who played a new formation for the first time (and never again i think) with a bunch of shitters and we get dominated and they win. No gross mistake like asamoah. No ridiculous missed chances like perisic. But somehow that gets LESS criticism than last year?
This has nothing to do with Spallo. Spallo deserved to get fired. End of story. This is about this really weird fetish that FiF has with Conte and somehow he is absolved of criticsm that others rightfully received. I see people talking about gags missed tap in as absolving conte but then don't absolve spallo for gags missing a tap in v Juve last season (1st game), or asamoah committing calamitous fuckups v PSV and Juve (2nd game) or fuckups by deV for numerous games?
The different standards for assessment are quite frankly laughable. And all of this because we had like 3-4 nice patterned counter attack plays vs barca 1st half, 1st leg